One of the biggest criticisms directed at the phenomenally successful Call of Duty series is that the games have become largely derivative and formulaic, with little to no gameplay innovations across different titles. The cookie-cutter nature of the Call of Duty games has been pointed out by several developers from other studios as well including Splitgate 2 director Ian Proulx at this year’s Summer Game Fest along with former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra who has posted in favor of this year’s Call of Duty game being severely outgunned by Battlefield 6.
However, speaking to IGN during Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s Opening Night Live 2025 reveal, associate creative director Miles Leslie has opened up on those complaints regarding the series which they perceive as “noise” and try to dismiss them while focusing on making the best game they possibly can.
“You just don’t worry about it, right?” Leslie stated. “When we start, it’s not like ‘what are they going to think?’ It’s like, we have a vision, we’re going to hit that vision, and there’s always going to be people that are going to try to knock you down and not have positive criticism, which we do look for. So, it’s like noise, right? You try to cut through that and stick to your vision and plan.”
Leslie also revealed that he has played Battlefield 6’s open beta and has shared what he feels about DICE’s upcoming shooter as well:
“I got to play this weekend,” he said. “It’s a fun game. We’re fans of all games and I think we look for inspiration anywhere. But we’re focused on our own craft. They’re doing their thing. We know if we can hit our goals, we’re going to deliver what the fans want and that’s the key, because if we’re happy when we’re play testing, then we know fans are going to be happy play testing.
“We’re fans of the FPS genre. We’re fans of lots of games. Let’s all have fun.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will also have an open beta free across all platforms, with players who pre-order or with a subscription to select Game Pass plans granted early access. The beta is slated to run from October 5-8 for all gamers, with Early Access provided to players right from October 2.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is set to release on November 14 across Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Battle.net, Xbox on PC, and Steam.
